A Utah judge denied the motion filed by Cori Richens's defense team to disqualify trial judge Richard Mirzaic and grant her a new trial. Richens remains convicted of murdering her husband Eric Richens and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. She also faces separate 2025 charges of money laundering and mortgage fraud, with a next hearing set for October 9th.
The defense's motion rested on allegations that Judge Mirzaic had been impatient, hostile, and condescending toward defense counsel throughout the original trial, while showing favoritism to the prosecution. The judge rejected those claims outright, leaving the conviction intact.
This ruling closes off one of the last procedural avenues available to Richens within her murder case. Absent a successful appeal at a higher court level, the life-without-parole sentence stands.
Richens is not only fighting the consequences of her murder conviction. Separate charges filed in 2025 — including money laundering and mortgage fraud — have opened a parallel legal proceeding against her.
Those matters will be addressed at the next scheduled hearing on October 9th. This case is covered in depth on Dateline NBC on Listenly, where producers and correspondents track each development as it unfolds.
More than a year after Brian Koberger pleaded guilty to the 2022 killings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle, he filed a motion seeking to withdraw his guilty plea.
The prosecution called medical professionals and psychiatrists to challenge the defense's claim that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis. A key witness testified about her mood and state of mind — writing, when asked, that she felt "horrified."
Davis's defense team argues that the case lacks physical evidence — no gun, no ballistics, and no DNA — which are the types of evidence juries typically expect before returning a murder conviction.
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